Northants bid to end winless run in Natwest T20 Blast against Derbyshire

Sports Reporter

Northamptonshire will have England all-rounder David Willey available as they bid to end their winless run in the Natwest T20 Blast against Derbyshire on Thursday night.

Having been beaten by Durham, Birmingham Bears and last Friday, by Worcestershire, the 2013 t20 champions say they’re keen to put the record straight.

Willey played no part in the epic 210-run win over the World Cup Finalists at Edgbaston yesterday and has been released to play in Thursday’s fixture.

Steelbacks captain Alex Wakely is hopeful that his players can rise to the challenge of taking on the Falcons.

“The majority of the games we’ve played so far, we’ve not been hammered in by any means and the contest against Worcestershire was terrific value for money for any spectator coming to the County Ground,” he said.

“We believe we are a better side than those results suggest – especially since the Birmingham game went to the last ball and the batters weren’t far away from a stiff total last Friday night.”

Richard Levi could well open again with Willey and the South African is expected to be in confident mood after his first Championship century in Northants colours this week against Essex.

Shahid Afridi will be involved in their three games coming up this week, with trips to Leicestershire and Yorkshire following Thursday night’s visit of Derbyshire, which is their first meeting since an exciting draw in the Championship last month.